Karnataka's RTOs have been witnessing long queues of people wishing renew their vehicular papers after the newly amended Motor Vehicles Act has made people anxious. Vehicle owners, in order to avoid penalties, were seen rusing at the Regional Transport Office (RTO) at Kalaburagi, Karnataka, on Friday. Since the implementation of the Act, there have been incidents of heavy fines being levied on the offenders; in one such case, a Gurugram man was imposed a hefty fine of Rs 23,000 for violating traffice rules. In another case, an Odisha truck driver was penalised a staggering Rs 86,500.

Dramatic increase in driving license applications

Speaking to a news agency, RTO officer Dhamodhar said, "There are long queues for renewal of the driving licenses and vehicle registrations. People are getting their paperwork done in order to avoid hefty fines as per the newly amended act." He also added that since the begining of September, almost 30% more fines have been collected so far as compared to the last year. In a major positive development, driving license applications have seen a dramatic increase after the Motor Vehicles Act was imposed.

Motor Vehicles Act 2019

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had notified the provisions of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, which was implemented in several states from September 1. The law enforces heavy fines and stricter penalties for traffic violations. There have been several instances where people have paid hefty fines for traffic violations in many parts of the country. The act imposed stricter penalties for violations such as drunk driving, overcrowding, and absence of license.

Gujarat relaxes fines on first-time offenders

In a recent development, Gujarat has decided to relax penalties on the first-time offenders. The fines levied as per the State's modified rules are - Rs. 1,500 for two-wheelers and three-wheelers, Rs 2,000 for Light Motor Vehicles, Rs 4,000 for Heavy Motor Vehicles while the violation of vehicle registration attracts Rs. 2,000, Rs 3,000, Rs 5,000 respectively. Maharashtra and Karnataka government followed suit by reducing penalties. Meanwhile, the West Bengal government has denied pushing stricter penalties, calling them 'harsh'.